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Soho House: ``l´Hotel de l´Amitié sur Handsworth Heath´´
Soho House, the former home of Matthew Boulton from 1766-1809, was described by Boulton to James Watt in 1769 as “l’Hotel de l’Amitié sur Handsworth Heath” – in other words, a house of friendship and support. It therefore seems fitting that the Friends of Birmingham Museums now have their office at Soho House Museum, given their contributions over the years to its development and functioning as a museum.
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During the period of his occupancy, Matthew Boulton moulded his residence to help promote his status as a leading manufacturer, depict his taste for fashion and embody his enthusiasm for technological innovation. He created a hospitable home for his family, friends and visitors – renowned as one of the meeting places of the Lunar Society.
Birmingham City Council acquired the building in 1989 from the West Midlands Police Authority (who had used the house and adjacent modern building as residential accommodation for serving officers) to enable Birmingham Museums to develop the site as a museum. The importance of Soho House had long been recognised by Stephen Price, Birmingham Museums’ then Keeper of Local History and his colleagues. The vision was to restore the building as far as possible to its appearance in Boulton’s day. From the outset it was also planned that the site should incorporate facilities for the local community.
In 1990, I was appointed to my first role in Birmingham Museums as Heritage Development Officer for Soho House with a remit to lead the restoration and museum development work. It was not a straightforward brief! Soon after the project got underway, Birmingham City Council entered a period of significant costcutting, so the committed capital funding for the site was withdrawn. Though demoralising at the time, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. It gave time to thoroughly research the architectural development of the house, gain a fuller understanding of Boulton’s life and activities there, as well as pursue a programme of acquisitions to furnish and interpret the building. It allowed for planning the adjacent visitor centre and envisaged community uses. Not least, the delay in embarking on full-scale restoration works allowed for fundraising works to get the project back on track. Ultimately the museum development project took five years.
Although Soho House had become run down by the time it was taken on by Birmingham Museums, it had benefitted from the fact that no-one had spent huge sums of money ‘modernising’ the building. Alterations had taken place after the Boulton family’s occupancy, notably the demolition of the major part of its service wing amongst other adaptations during the 19th and 20th century when it served as a vicarage, school, hotel, hostel for GEC
apprentices and was subsequently used by the police. However many of its 18th century architectural features remained intact, if somewhat hidden by layers of modern paint and wallpaper. An archaeological study of the building and physical investigations exposed marble fireplaces still in situ, fragments of wallpapers, decorative plasterwork and various fixtures and fittings dating back to Boulton’s day. Highly innovative elements of the building were discovered, such as the remains of Matthew Boulton’s warm air heating system in the cellar and the building’s unusual slate cladding on the exterior walls.
The survival of Matthew Boulton’s personal papers in the Archives of Soho (held in the Library of Birmingham) shed light on how the house was transformed from the relatively modest dwelling he acquired during the 1760s to the peak of its scale and appearance towards the end of his life. During the 1790s Boulton commissioned James Wyatt, a leading architect of the day, to redesign Soho House on a grand scale. However all did not go to plan. Wyatt was notorious for not completing schemes in a timely way and undoubtedly Boulton was distracted by the multitude of his various business enterprises. After writing to complain to Wyatt about the lack of progress:
‘I have already paid a large sum of Money to bring my dwelling house into the most uncomfortable state possible as the Winds, Rain and snow drives into it; & for want of the Main Stack of Chimneys being built up to the top of the House it is constantly filled with Smoak by which my books are spoiled, my daughter’s health much injured & my servants obliged to live out of Doors’.
Ultimately, Boulton called in Samuel Wyatt, James’ brother, to complete a scaled down version of the original scheme. Though not as large as originally planned, it was made as elegant as possible both internally and externally.
Archival material in the Matthew Boulton Papers tracing the house’s architectural form and appearance helped guide the repair and restoration works and recreation of its 18th century interior decoration. A few pieces of furniture originally from Boulton’s home had been acquired by Birmingham Museums in a 1987 auction sale containing a range of Boulton and Soho-related items. These included the dining room table, which had been made for the house by Benjamin Wyatt in 1798 and a pair of mahogany cabinets which had housed Boulton’s fossil and mineral collection. Further items subsequently acquired were the japanned and gilt drawing room chairs and the ormolu and marble side table on display in the entrance hall. Other furniture was purchased for room displays which matched, as far as possible, pieces described in Boulton’s furnishing accounts.
Although the house and its small gardens now occupy under an acre, at its greatest extent, the Soho Estate covered hundreds of acres encompassing landscaped gardens and farmland. Most notably it entailed a vast industrial complex with its centrepiece being the Soho Manufactory, developed to expand Boulton’s production of decorative metalwork – cut steel wares, silver, Sheffield plate and ormolu. Over time, the site comprised an array of industrial buildings for the Boulton & Watt steam engine business and Boulton’s Soho Mint, the first in the world powered by steam. To set Soho House in this context, Birmingham Museums also drew from and expanded its collections of material to interpret not just the house, but the site’s national and global industrial significance. The purchase of many items displayed in Soho House, such as products from the Soho Manufactory, was made possible through funding contributions from the Friends of Birmingham Museums as well as many other funding bodies.
The mission for Soho House Museum to engage local communities has seen the staging of exhibitions related to Handsworth’s more contemporary history and society. The first exhibition shown in the visitor centre when the museum opened in 1995 featured a film about daily life along the Soho Road narrated by Handsworth-born poet Benjamin Zephania. Recently, ‘Blood and Fire: Our Journey through Vanley Burke’s History’ showcased images and archival material which depicted a history of Black British experiences in Handsworth and wider Birmingham. Legacy West Midlands, based within the visitor centre, delivers a range of culturally diverse heritage and wellbeing projects with a foundation in community cohesion.
The Soho House Museum site therefore represents past, present and future. It is a key part of the story of Birmingham’s industrial growth and global connections, which in turn created the diversity of communities surrounding the site and across the city. n By Rita McLean, former Director of Birmingham Museums, 2005-2012
TOP left: ‘Soho House’, 2009. TOP middle: ‘Pair of white glass and ormolu candle vases’ by Matthew Boulton and John Fothergill, Made at the Soho Manufactory, c.1772; Purchased for Soho House, 2002, with the assistance of the Friends of Birmingham Museums. TOP RIGHT: ‘Plan of Soho’, 1834, showing Soho House, Soho Manufactory and the Mint All photos by Birmingham Museums Trust, licensed under CC0
